1 mile west of the Chicago Premium Outlet Mall (800) 810 3100
By Rick Law of the Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law in Aurora, IL off of the I-88 tollway Emily and John did not even make to retirement before they had to switch gears from happy young couple with three sons to a family in crisis.  John had begun to show signs of extreme nervousness. People began to call him “high strung.” Emily knew this was not the man she married in her twenties.  Now, at age 35, he was becoming more and more irritable and had even developed what she thought were “nervous tics.” After seeing several doctors who prescribed everything from antidepressants to possible shock therapy, it was finally discovered that John had Huntington’s Disease. This is a genetic disorder that is hereditary, but John’s mother was in her sixties and had no symptoms of the disease.  John’s father had apparently had the illness. John remembered that his father had begun to be very agitated in his thirties and often exhibited moments of rage, but the family attributed this to excessive drinking. When John’s father died of a heart attack at 41, no one suspected anything else. The first time we saw Emily, her first words to us were, “Don’t tell me to divorce my husband! Every other attorney I have seen has told me to divorce my husband.” John was 46 years old then and had been symptomatic for more than ten years. His disease had advanced to the point that he needed to be placed in a care facility. The children were 12, 15, and 19 – and each of them has a 50 percent chance of having this disease. We worked with Emily to place her husband and moved him sixteen times in five years because of rage issues and some inappropriate behavior that can accompany Huntington’s. We did her estate plan, which included Special Needs Trusts for each of her children in the event they have Huntington’s. We became her advocate through the Medicaid process and all the facility moves. We became her friends and trusted guides for almost six years. At John’s funeral, Emily said  “I could never have survived this without you.” The journey can be overwhelming and the families need someone to be there, someone to turn to for advice or just to listen.  Truth be told, Emily’s journey is not over. She is still waiting to see if her children will have this dreaded disease. You can test for the gene, and if you have the gene, you have the disease.  However, if you test for the gene and you have it, you will never get insurance. This creates a terrible Catch-22 that results in a ticking time bomb for the children of a person with Huntington’s Disease. Much of our practice involves meeting with wives who have become full-time caregivers for their husbands. When a husband develops memory or mobility issues, the wife will sometimes try to cover up for him and hide his decline from the children. We have spent a great many hours working with World War II veterans and their wives. These are proud men who for many years have been in control of the family and the family finances. They have great stories. They also possess a great photograph – the one of them in uniform. Sometimes they are standing in front of their plane or by their barracks. Depending on the branch of service, the photo background varies – but there is always this photograph. It is interesting when they tell us stories of their wartime experiences at our meeting. The children seem amazed and tell us later that “Dad has never talked about the war.”  These men are trying to hang on to some semblance of control and remember the things in their lives that mattered. They are reviewing their legacy. They have been the breadwinner in the family and the leader in the home. Some of the wives we meet have never driven a car or written a check. They were now in a position that they must “take over,” and it is devastating to both husband and wife. The wives tend to feel that they need to keep their husbands at home and provide the care, even when it is affecting their own health and safety. Sometimes the children are insisting that Mom place Dad in a care facility either because she can no longer lift him when he falls or she can no longer keep him (or herself) safe from the dangers caused by his dementia. One woman said, “You are asking me to put the love of my life in a nursing home!” It was not a real protest, but more a statement summing up how she felt in the midst of her crisis. My heart breaks when I see these strong men frightened and confused about what will happen to them and what will happen to the wife that they loved, married, and made a life with, often for more than a half a century. If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now. Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. 
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By Elder Law Attorney and Kane County advocate for seniors and boomers Rick Law of Law Elder Law in Aurora, IL As you can tell from our real life stories and perhaps some you have personally witnessed, the retirement ride can get very rough. Our clients have memory and mobility issues, and some have them sooner rather than later.  We work with clients in Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook, Oswego, and other towns and villages around the southwest suburbs of Illinois. I think fondly of one couple that we have been involved, and I will call them Sue and Marv.  They were in their mid 60s. Retire and travel – that was their plan. After all, they had worked hard, raised two sons, and now it was time to relax and enjoy each other- but this was not to happen as they had planned. Marv was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age 64. For me, the difficult thing is to discuss what is down the road for our clients – possible options in their planning, and realistic difficult decisions they will have to make – when the person with the diagnosis is sitting there with us in the room. Marv still had the ability to enter into the conversation, even though already he was having some trouble tracking, and he knew something needed to be done. Still, he was so good-natured about what had to be dealt with and tried to make me feel at ease. When they first came in, Sue told me that they were going to take a trip to see some of Marv’s siblings on the West Coast.  She believed it might be the last time they would be able to take such a trip, and perhaps the last time Marv would be able to know and communicate with his family.  I am happy to tell you that Marv is still at home and actually about the same – but this is rare. He has balance issues and has fallen several times and injured himself. Sue has had health issues as well. She struggles to be Marv’s caregiver and to care for herself. Their sons have been a good help; however, although with the economic downturn one is now unemployed. This is not the retirement ride Sue and Marv imagined. We were there for them with appropriate legal documents, legal advice for their estate and elder law issues, and referrals to healthcare professionals that can assist them. After almost six years, they are doing as well as can be expected and we will continue to stand by them as they travel the Elder Care Journey. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. 
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When trying to find an “elder law”-focused attorney, it’s important to understand how elder law differs from traditional estate planning. Traditional Estate planning is death planning. A traditional estate plan is typically designed to do three things:
  • Minimize estate taxes
  • Avoid probate court
  • Distribute assets from the deceased to the deceased’s heirs
Elder law, on the other hand, is death planning plus long-term care planning. The elder law attorney is not only dealing with your estate plan, but must also deal with life care issues in the event that you or your spouse has long-term healthcare needs during the course of your lifetimes. When there is no long-term care asset preservation planning, it is quite common to see families spend a $2 million net worth estate when both a husband and wife have long-term care needs. This is a key focus of an elder law attorney. No one wants to be out of money and out of options before they are out of breath. While it’s not possible to guarantee specific results, the elder law attorney works with clients and families to guide them through the minefield of public benefits, VA benefits, Medicare, Social Security, special needs trusts, powers of attorney and Medicaid. Our job is to improve the quality of life for our clients, not just plan for a happy post-death asset distribution. If you are looking for an elder law attorney, please use an attorney who can demonstrate that he or she is working in that area every day. The issues are complex, and you deserve to work with someone who is fluent in elder law. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help building a fortress around your estate to protect it from creditors, predators, and the cost of chronic disease, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.
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By Rick Law, Senior Advocate and Estate Planning Attorney in Western Chicago. Abigail was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at the age of 52.  One of her sons, Steve, got a call from Abigail’s former employer in a town 30 miles from where Abigail lived. Abigail had driven that morning to a job where she had not worked for 12 years.  Her family had seen some changes in their mother over the past few years. She was agitated, forgetful, and she sometimes said inappropriate things. They had attributed it to a “midlife crisis.” Because Abigail had been a single parent from the time her children were little, Abigail’s sons wanted very much to care for their mother who had cared so selflessly for them all their lives. As the Alzheimer’s progressed, her other son, Andrew, agreed to have Abigail move in with him and provide her with supervision and assistance. Andrew and his wife were able to do this for almost three years. Because of the advice that we provided them,  Andrew and his wife were able to act as her caregivers. When the time was appropriate, the children were able to make the confident decision to transfer Abigail into a nursing home – without feeling any guilt for relinquishing her care to strangers. Thus, Abigail spent the last six years of her life in a quality nursing home, and she passed away peacefully on the first week of February 2009. Upon her death, Andrew said, “I know that before she lost her memory entirely, it meant a great deal to Mom to know that we didn’t allow her home to be sold. She died happy that she had never become a burden we couldn’t handle.” Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. 
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By Estate Planning Attorney Rick Law, advocate for seniors and baby-boomers in Kane County, Illinois. Too many people make grave mistakes, spending or giving away money freely before they unexpectedly need to qualify for Medicaid. That said, when planning is done properly, it’s often possible to qualify for Medicaid while saving some of your assets and spending some others in ways you’d prefer to spend them.  Despite the hurdles of qualifying for Medicaid, it can be a viable source for paying for long-term care needs – if it is planned for correctly. There are, however, some things to keep in mind that can prevent the qualification for Medicaid benefits. Some things to be mindful of include:
  • Giving away assets. It’s your money or your house, or both. It needs to be understood that individuals shouldn’t put their security at risk by putting all of their assets in the hands of their children. Precipitous transfers can cause both difficult tax and Medicaid problems.
  • Ignoring important safe harbors created by Congress. Certain types of asset transfers are allowed without jeopardizing Medicaid eligibility. These include transfers to disabled children, caretaker children, transfers to certain siblings, and transfer into trust for anyone who is disabled and under age 65. Others include a transfer to a “pay-back” trust if under age 65, as well as a transfer to a pooled disability trust at any age.
  • Failing to take advantage of protections for the spouse of a nursing home resident. These protections can include purchasing special types of immediate annuity, petitioning for an increased community spouse resource allowance, and in some cases petitioning for an increased income allowance or refusing to cooperate with the nursing home spouse’s Medicaid application.
  • Applying for Medicaid too early. In some instances this can result in a longer period of ineligibility.
  • Applying for Medicaid too late. This can mean the loss of many months of eligibility.
  • Confusion about the difference between lifetime liens on property and estate recovery. There are a number of exceptions to lifetime liens on property, but for estate recovery there is only a deferral for a surviving spouse and a hardship waiver.
  • Not getting expert help. This is a complicated field that most people deal with only once in their lives. Tens of thousands of dollars could be at stake. It is extremely important that people work with experienced elder law attorneys before trying to navigate through the Medicaid maze themselves.
Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. 
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By Elder Law attorney Rick Law of the Estate Planning Center at Law Elder Law in west suburban Chicagoland, IL. Let’s get a little more in-depth on the issue of Medicaid eligibility.  What assets “count” for Medicaid, and which are exempt or non-countable? For single individuals in Illinois, Medicaid considers that all assets that are classified as “countable” are to be spent on skilled nursing home care before eligibility is granted. The individual would be allowed to keep only assets that are considered as non-countable.  This can include a prepaid funeral, a small cash allowance, etc. For married couples, all countable assets in a marriage are considered as being jointly held and available to be spent on the institutionalized spouse, subject to certain spousal allowance limits. A provision referred to as the spousal impoverishment rule allows the “community spouse” (or, the healthy spouse) to retain a certain amount of assets and income. Beyond this allowance, all of the couple’s assets earned by either partner and owned by either partner or jointly, are generally considered countable and available to fund the institutionalized spouse’s care.  The community, or healthy, spouse’s assets are still counted as part of the couple’s assets even if:
  • There is a premarital agreement that the assets belong to the community spouse and shall not be claimed by the other.
  • They were never contributed to by the institutionalized spouse.
  • The couple lives in a community property state (i.e., where assets that are brought into the marriage are not subject to division in a divorce).
There is, however, an exception to this rule in some states. If the community spouse has a tax-qualified investment plan that currently prohibits access to its assets, it may not be considered as part of the institutionalized spouse’s assets. If you’re ready to start getting your estate in order and secure your assets for the “worst-case” scenario, please give our office a call at 800-310-3100. Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now. Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.
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By Rick Law, Senior Advocate, Estate Planner, and Elder Law Attorney at Law Elder Law in Aurora, IL Seniors who do need long-term care can face enormous expenses if proper planning is not in place. The cost of receiving care, whether that care takes place in a facility or at home, continues to increase each year. In this day and age, it simply not always possible to use one’s own assets to pay for care.  Many people think that their family will take care of them when the need for care arises.  Yet as much as family and other loved ones intend to care for their elderly relative or friend, it can turn out to be quite difficult when the time comes. Over the past several years, societal changes have made it more difficult for family members to care for a loved one who is in need of long-term care. The economy has forced many families to split up and move apart. There are several public financing options available to pay for certain types of long-term care services but these options should not be relied upon as the sole source of paying for care. There are numerous criteria that a person must meet in order to qualify for financing from these programs. And, even if one qualifies, the benefits received may or may not be sufficient to pay for the entire cost of care that is received. Although they should not be relied upon to pay for all healthcare and long-term care related expenses, the government offers some assistance for these costs — provided that you qualify. It is important to know up front that even though Medicare and Medicaid sound similar, they are very different programs with differing qualification criteria as well. When considering the options to pay for care, you must be sure that you understand what each program may or may not cover, as well as what you will need to do in order to qualify for coverage. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options. Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees
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By Elder Law Attorney Rick Law. Founding Partner of Law Elder Law – West of Chicago in Aurora, IL There are many issues that can affect a person’s self-funding options for long-term care. These can include:
  • Market conditions – Markets go up and markets go down. In a situation where the market drops and an individual or one spouse in a married couple needs care, there could be pressure to sell assets for the liquidity that is needed to pay for the care. However, any loss in income that results from exposure to the decline in the market may render the family unable to pay for both lifestyle needs, as well as care.  In addition, even if the family does not need to currently invade investment principal to pay for care, they may be compelled to sell assets anyway because they fear that the market may drop even further or fail to recover.
  • Liquidity – If the individual or family has most of their assets placed in investments that are hard to liquidate such as real estate or a business, then self-funding the long-term care costs may force them to sell these assets, also at reduced prices.
  • Taxes on the sale of assets – When individuals sell assets, they are likely to have to pay capital gains taxes on the gain.
  • Lifestyle – The issue of lifestyle should never be underestimated. The income that is generated from an individual’s or a family’s portfolio may be able to support their lifestyle, but will it be able to support both lifestyle and paying for long-term care at the same time,
  • Legacy assets – Does the family own inherited property that they intend to pass along to the next generation?
Paying for long-term care out-of-pocket may make this impossible. In addition to self-insuring out of one’s own assets to pay for care, many feel that their family will take care of them when the need for care arises. Yet as much as family and other loved ones intend to care for their elderly relative or friend, it can turn out to be quite difficult when the time comes. Over the past several years, societal changes have made it more difficult for family members to care for a loved one who is in need of long-term care. The economy has forced many families to split up and move apart. In addition, many families today have both spouses working. If a family member who needs care moves in, more than likely, one of two things must happen: either one spouse must quit working to take care of their loved one – resulting in lost income – or someone must be hired to give the needed assistance while both spouses work. This also will result in lost income because earned income is now going to pay for the family member’s care. Although they should not be relied upon as the sole funding source for long-term care, there are several public financing options available to pay for certain types of long-term care services. There are, however, numerous criteria that a person must meet in order to qualify for financing from these programs. And, even if one qualifies, the benefits received may or may not be sufficient to pay for the entire cost of care that is received. Too many families needlessly lose everything they have.  Don’t let that be you.  If you need help paying the overwhelming cost of long term care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100.  Your first consultation is absolutely free.  We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family.  Call now, because when you’re out of money, you’re out of options! Sincerely, Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees. Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future.  Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care. 
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